Playing the lottery is a popular pastime for many people who dream of winning big. With odds of winning the jackpot being extremely slim, some players look for any possible advantage to improve their chances. One strategy is choosing “lucky” numbers based on statistics of what numbers have hit most often in past drawings. This leads many to wonder – what numbers really win the lottery the most?
Most Common Overall Lottery Numbers
When looking at all lottery games, including Powerball, Mega Millions, and state lotteries, some numbers do appear more frequently than others as winning numbers. According to lottery number statistics aggregated across different games, here are the most commonly seen numbers:
Number | Frequency |
7 | Appears in 14.7% of drawings |
3 | Appears in 13.9% of drawings |
2 | Appears in 13.1% of drawings |
1 | Appears in 12.6% of drawings |
4 | Appears in 12.3% of drawings |
As you can see, the numbers 7, 3, 2, 1, and 4 are the top five most commonly seen winning lottery numbers across different lottery games. Number 7 has appeared in nearly 15% of all drawings.
Most Common Mega Millions Numbers
The Mega Millions lottery has numbers 1-70 plus a Mega Ball number from 1-25. Analyzing the statistics from all Mega Millions drawings to date, these numbers have won most often:
Number | Frequency |
17 | Appears in 12.1% of drawings |
10 | Appears in 12.0% of drawings |
4 | Appears in 11.7% of drawings |
35 | Appears in 11.2% of drawings |
7 | Appears in 11.1% of drawings |
For the Mega Ball, number 24 has appeared most often with 48 hits. The number 7 Mega Ball has appeared 45 times.
Most Common Powerball Numbers
For the Powerball lottery, which draws 5 numbers from 1-69 plus the Powerball from 1-26, the most frequent winning numbers are:
Number | Frequency |
39 | Appears in 15.5% of drawings |
19 | Appears in 15.4% of drawings |
35 | Appears in 14.8% of drawings |
40 | Appears in 14.7% of drawings |
23 | Appears in 14.4% of drawings |
The Powerball number that hits most often is number 24, appearing 44 times. Number 18 has come up 42 times as the Powerball.
Most Common Numbers By State
Winning lottery numbers can also vary by state, since states like California and Texas have their own lottery games and drawings. Here are some of the luckiest numbers for the biggest state lotteries:
California SuperLotto Plus
Number | Frequency |
32 | Appears in 9.1% of drawings |
41 | Appears in 8.9% of drawings |
6 | Appears in 8.7% of drawings |
5 | Appears in 8.6% of drawings |
36 | Appears in 8.5% of drawings |
Texas Lotto
Number | Frequency |
38 | Appears in 9.5% of drawings |
30 | Appears in 9.4% of drawings |
7 | Appears in 9.1% of drawings |
47 | Appears in 9.0% of drawings |
40 | Appears in 8.9% of drawings |
Florida Lotto
Number | Frequency |
23 | Appears in 11.5% of drawings |
21 | Appears in 10.3% of drawings |
1 | Appears in 10.2% of drawings |
3 | Appears in 10.0% of drawings |
42 | Appears in 9.7% of drawings |
Strategies For Choosing Numbers
Some strategies lottery players use when picking numbers based on these statistics include:
- Playing the most frequent winning numbers overall across all lotteries, like 7, 3, 2, and 1.
- Focusing on the top numbers for a particular lottery game, like prioritizing 17, 10, 4, 35 for Mega Millions.
- Selecting both the most common numbers and the most common Mega Ball or Powerball for those games.
- Checking for “hot” state lottery numbers if playing a local game.
However, it’s important to note that past performance does not guarantee future results. The fact that a number has appeared frequently in the past does not mean it is more likely to be drawn again. Lottery drawings are still random, and any set of numbers has an equal chance of winning.
Increase Your Odds in Other Ways
While picking frequent winning numbers may seem logical, your odds are still incredibly small. Some other tips that may actually help increase your chances include:
- Buy more tickets – more tickets equals more chances to win.
- Join a lottery pool to buy more tickets at reduced cost.
- Avoid playing popular combinations like 1-2-3-4-5-6 because more people means shared prizes.
- Play less frequently occurring number patterns like spreading your picks across all number groups.
- Stick with the same set of numbers every time you play.
Can Statistics Predict the Next Winning Numbers?
In the end, lottery number statistics can’t definitively predict what numbers will come up in the next drawing. Playing the numbers that come up most often is just one strategy with the goal of maximizing your odds. But in the vast majority of cases, lotteries are won by pools, not individuals, simply because pooling more tickets increases total odds of winning. Unless you plan to buy tens of thousands of tickets, lottery number patterns likely won’t make a big difference in your chances.
Conclusion
Lotteries are complex games of chance with extremely challenging odds. While some numbers have hit more frequently than others in the past, lottery outcomes remain completely random. If you want to use a numbers strategy, paying attention to statistics on common winning numbers may marginally improve your chances – but the odds will still be incredibly low. To substantially boost your odds, joining a lottery pool to increase ticket quantity may be a more practical approach. And of course, you should always play responsibly and not spend more than you can comfortably afford while enjoying lotteries strictly for entertainment.